Spending 10 days in the Airstream on a cat skiing vacation in the the middle of old man winter is an incredible experience. You are warm, cozy and it feels great to be so off the grid knowing you are totally self contained and comfortable. Conserving and enjoying life — the way it should be. Here is our spot at the base of Red Mountain in Red Mountain Resort. We are in British Columbia – specifically Rossland.

It is truly absolutely beautiful here.

Red Mountain Resort has been delivering incredible skiing longer than any other area in Western Canada, with the first recorded powder turns in 1896. With accolades ranging from “Best Authentic and Funky Resort Experience” to “Best Powder, Best Trees, Best Steeps”, to “Best Fall Line Steeps” and one of the “Top 5 Free ride Spots”, Red Mountain Resort is the hidden jewel of BC’s Kootenay Rockies region.

On this beautiful morning, we awoke to blue sunny skies. To help the boys get on with their big morning of skiing I prepared buckwheat cakes for breakfast. These were delicious! Have you ever baked/cooked with buckwheat flour? It really is delicious and did you know that aside from it’s name, it does not contain any wheat? It’s perfect for a gluten-free diet. Of course this recipe also contains flour that does have gluten, but you could use pure buckwheat flour if you are gluten-free.

Again I would like to thank Matt Small for his amazing ski photography! He is one of our ESPN photographers that have graciously accompanied us on our trip! Thank you Matt!!

Today Matt was photographing Erik Kalacis! Erik created and built an international sports and TV production company with clients including Swatch, Kokanee, General Motors and Salomon. Erik was the pioneer behind the popularization of Boardercross (now Snowboardcross) and Ski Cross, which are now Olympic sports events. He now enjoys being the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Red Mountain Resort. It was the biggest honor for me to meet Erik.

What a very kind, nice guy he was to me and everyone in our group — and did I mention what an awesome skier he is?

If Italian fare is on your mind while on holiday at Red Mountain then this is the place for you! After a huge day of powder sking with Big Red Cats, our photographers Kenny Blum and Matt Small were hungry! We could hardly wait to bring them to Gabriella’s!

On this particular evening we had the “Trip around Italy,” five course meal enjoying flavors from the savory fava bean soup and incredible seafood linguine to the decadent tiramisu all while warming up by the fireplace.

Thank you Gabriella and Roxy and everyone atGabriellas, it was a night we will never forget!!

10 reasons to choose Big Red Cats for your cat skiing adventure:

Safety – qualified guides, and exceeding industry operating standards, as one of only a few operations to have a full time snow safety team, as well as two or three guides in the cat

Separate trips for experts, advanced, and intermediate skiers and riders – this means that you generally ski with people going at the same speed: experts get the super steeps, pillows and cliffs they enjoy, while intermediates can cruise along in bowls and spaced trees, without performance anxiety

Small-group option for 3:1 guest to guide ratio

Big Red Cats is one of the largest cat ski operations in the world, with the terrain, safety program, and maintenance to back that up. Where else do they regularly run three cats, sometimes four, plus a 5th backup?

Super fast cats – PB300’s are the best in the business. More skiing, no waiting around, and they go all the way to the top!

Unmatched accommodation choice – choose from super quality five star condos to cheap hostels, or our social lodge options with other cat skiers.

Access – easy to get to from Spokane (two hours). Fly into Castlegar (30 minutes) or Kelowna (3.5 hours) – just minutes from Red Mountain to the snowcats on Big Red Cats’ shuttle bus, or self-drive.

Flexibility – book one day, six days, or alternate with resort skiing. Because you’re staying right at a world-class ski resort, you can mix your cat skiing with resort days, have some group members cat ski while others are at the resort

Great value – Big Red Cats has the best price and quality mix, and they DO provide rain checks and resort options, so you’re guaranteed to ski or ride.

I would like to introduce our two very special photographers who have joined us on our winter ski trip to Red Mountain in British Columbia! I can’t even begin to say how honored we are to have them along with us.

Kenny Blum and Matt Small! Just take a look at their photography and be amazed. These guys are very, very talented!

As we spend our days here skiing, exploring the village and just enjoying ourselves in general, we are amazed with the views and the kind people here. Red Mountain Resort is sure to please any skier be it beginner to uber expert. The ski school is excellent for children and the instructors are kind and gentle (and according to B “They make me laugh mommy.”)

The snow is plentiful and everyone is smiling here. What a better place to spend our winter holiday vacation!

The lodge you see below has a great ski shop for accessories and also a restaurant above. There are tons of lockers to store your gear and again, everyone is so helpful and friendly!

Thank you Red Mountain Resort for the memories!! We will definitely be back again!!!

This is gourmet dining at its finest. If you ever come to Red Mountain Resort in Rossland, British Columbia — dining at Gypsy at Red is a must. The service is impeccable and the food? Amazing presentation and absolutely delicious!

The day was finally here. After months and months of preparations for our trip to Red Mountain in British Columbia, Canada, we were finally on the road headed north!

This trip was going to be a special one for me personally. You see, when we first brought our Airstream home it needed some maintenance. She literally sat in the hot California sun, baking for four years, uncovered. In a way this was good for us because she was only taken on two trips but yet not so good because she was neglected. Some seals needed to be re-caulked and after calling around many (many) dealerships to locate this special sealant, I was finally greeted by Doug (the most knowledgeable [and one of the nicest] Airstream service experts we have ever met) at Airstream of Spokane. He didn’t make me feel as if I couldn’t handle the task – instead he gave me tips and advice and promptly sent me out two tubes of sealant. Oh, and he also said I could call him back anytime with questions through the process. Thank you so much Doug!

That’s not all.

Then I spoke with Nick and Karyn over the phone. Nick and Karyn are the owners ofAirstream of Spokane. They were so kind and were so interested in my questions. Right then I quickly learned that these two truly (truly) care about their customers.

I just want to say that we support Airstream of Spokane because of our positive experiences with them above all else. I really do encourage you to give them a call if you are in the market for an Airstream or just have questions in general because I truly feel that the nicest people who really care about others, deserve the credit. Don’t you?

As we say our goodbyes we head north to British Columbia where Red Mountain is. The roads were nice and dry and the scenery was pleasant. Slowly . . . slowly . . . the outside landscape starts to show signs of snow. We are getting closer!

Thank you Paula at Big Red Cats for letting us plug into your power for our visit (and thank you Ian for helping us figure it all out!).

It was a nice trip up to Red Mountain, but we were tired. And hungry. I knew the boys (and I) needed a snack to get us through to dinner so I thought I’d make some quick sweet potato and maple biscuits. The Airstream was warm and cozy (it was in the 20’s outside!) and smelled heavenly with the biscuits baking away in the oven.

I can’t wait to share this recipe with you — it was so easy and so good! Coming soon, I promise!! :)

For me, getting an Airstream travel trailer ready for a big ski trip is a lot of fun. Planning the days, developing recipes for meals ahead and the prospect of what lie ahead is really, really exciting! I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me but I am definitely making progress. Thank goodness I have a daily “to do,” checklist otherwise I may just fall apart with everything that needs to be accomplished prior to our departure. I feel very much on track as of this very moment.

It was a big day for me getting the Airstream ready and I knew I would be hungry. I was craving a salad . . .

At my local organic grocery store the other day, I saw the most amazing vegetable I have ever seen. The sign above the neatly piled stack of pale green bulbs read, “watermelon radish.” There it was, sliced in half with the most beautiful pink inside. The pink drew me in . . . how beautiful it was! I also picked up some edible flowers that I could absolutely not resist. The colors made me feel happy. I love radishes and thought I have tasted every variety imaginable until this beauty caught my eye. Excited I was!